


Daffodils

by Artio, Tamix13



Category: My Darkest Days
Genre: Human Trafficking, M/M, Sex Slavery, doesn't directly happen in fic though, lots of mentioned past stuff that'll be pretty horrible, tags will be added as needed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-27
Updated: 2015-07-07
Packaged: 2018-03-31 15:34:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3983428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Artio/pseuds/Artio, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tamix13/pseuds/Tamix13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Matt lets his friend take him to an auction, but it isn't any ordinary auction. Now the new "owner" of a sex slave, Matt promises to do his best to help the abused Reid overcome his past, and maybe find a new future for them both.</p><p>Basically a mix of MDD ships, a particular part of Watch Dogs, and the idea of Matt having some super sleazy friend came together to create a very detailed AU idea that Tamix13 and I could not stop coming back to. So even months later here we are still talking about it and finally writing it!<br/>-On permanent hiatus-</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1 - T

**Author's Note:**

> Since we wrote this with each person doing a chapter, whoever wrote the chapter will have an initial next to the chapter number in the little drop down menu thing and their username in the top notes so people can tell.  
> Also, come find us on Tumblr if you wanna chat! Tamix13 is fools-canbe-kings and Artio is parti-hardi-arti!
> 
> (Tamix13)

Matt wasn’t really sure how he had managed to be coaxed out of his house (and his netflix marathon) this late at night, but he was currently sitting in his friend Derek’s car, driving through a really dodgy looking neighborhood to get to what Derek had called “the auction of a lifetime, dude, you have to come with me.” Matt leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms, and thinking longingly of his couch and the leftover pizza he had been about to warm up for his dinner.

“This better be good, dude, I’m really having second thoughts about this,” he grumbled. “Honestly, we’re in like the shadiest of shady neighborhoods; why the hell are we going to an auction here?”

“Trust me, you’re not gonna wanna miss this shit, dude. I’ve been hearing about this one for months; it’s gonna be huge.”

“What kind of auction even is it, that it’s way out here in this shit neighborhood?” Matt asked suspiciously, but Derek just laughed and patted Matt’s shoulder a couple of times in a way that he probably thought was friendly, but mostly just hurt.

“You will see, my friend, you will see. But I guarantee you’ll like it.”

Hearing that made Matt question why he trusted this guy at all really, but he didn’t have a choice in the matter. Derek pulled haphazardly into a parking spot and threw the car in park, not even waiting for Matt to unbuckle his seatbelt before he was out of the car.

“C’mon dude, hurry up, I wanna be inside before the bidding starts, otherwise they won’t let us in.”

“What?” Matt got out of the car and followed his weirdly excited friend towards the huge warehouse that they had parked across the street from. “What do you mean, they won’t let us in?” He was getting more and more suspicious by the minute, that odd foreboding feeling made even more prominent by the building that they were headed towards. All of the windows in the place were blacked out, and it looked more like the setting to a scary movie than a place where an auction was being held.

“Stop dawdling, you’re gonna get run over!” When Matt looked down from his musings about the building, he noticed that Derek was already across the street, tapping his foot impatiently.

“Yeah, by what traffic? In case you haven’t noticed, it’s kind of eleven o'clock at night, genius; what traffic is gonna run me over? Why are you so fucking twitchy, dude?”

“I told you once the bidding starts they won’t let anyone in, and I am not missing this auction because you wanna fuck around in the middle of the street, now hurry up!” Matt rolled his eyes at his friend’s impatience and the weirdness of it all. Derek was acting weirder than he usually did, just a little too weird for Matt’s already jumpy nerves and his feeling that something was off about this so-called auction. 

This feeling only increased when they actually got inside the building. He had been to auctions before, even some shadier ones, but he didn’t think he’d ever seen this much security for a damn auction before.

“Uh, dude? What’s with the security?” Matt whispered to Derek as they made their way past several of the scarily burly security guards, who all looked like they could take Matt down with just their pinky finger. 

“I told you, this is a special auction. They don’t want any troublemakers getting in.They’re gonna wanna see your ID too, so have that out.”

“What, really? Derek, what the hell kind of auction is this? Honestly, just tell me.”

“You will see, you will see soon enough. Calm down, Matty, I wouldn’t bring you here if I didn’t think you’d like it.” Matt frowned, but followed Derek past the security guards to a desk set up where some more intimidating people checked their IDs and gave them little stickers to put on their shirts, presumably to prove that they had been checked and were okay to enter, and also a number to bid with. They were then led by a security guard into the main room, which had a stage set up in it with a couple hundred chairs in front. He assumed that’s where the actual auction would take place, and briefly wondered what they’d be auctioning off that required so many security guards. There were even more of them roaming around the huge room, and Matt wondered if the stuff they were selling was actually that valuable. As they took their seats, a man seated in the row in front of them turned to appraise them closely.

“You two look awfully young to be here,” he remarked, but it wasn’t in a condescending manner, more of an observation. 

“I’m thirty two, what does age have to do with being at an auction?” Matt said, just a touch snottily. He was still having some regrets over coming, and all of this suspicious shit going on wasn’t making his mood any better.

“Well for this particular auction, you have to be twenty one or older to get in and only a select few know about it in the first place, so count your blessings that you knew about it at all.”

“What the hell, why would you have to be twenty one to get into an auction? It’s just a fucking auction, what’s so special about it?” Matt snapped. The man’s smile grew wider, and Matt was starting to feel uneasy about this guy.

“He doesn’t know what this auction is for?” The guy asked, now addressing Derek, who shook his head.

“Nah, I wanted it to be a surprise for him; he has no idea.”

“Oh, well then aren’t you in for a treat? Like I said, not many people get to know about this, so the fact that you’re here is very lucky. I really do hope you enjoy yourself.” With that, the man turned back around, and Matt glared over at Derek. But his friend only ignored him, choosing instead to look around at some of the other people who were starting to sit down around them. An older woman sat down next to him and gave him a slight, dry smile.

“Hi,” Matt ventured, trying to be friendly despite his rapidly souring attitude towards this entire night.

“Hm?” The woman looked back over at him. “Oh, hello there. You must be new to the community; I don’t think I’ve seen you at one of these auctions before.” 

“I’ve been to auctions before…”

“Oh really? Wouldn’t have pegged you as the type. What are you looking to buy tonight?”

“Oh, I dunno if I really want to spend any money, but my house could use a new lamp or something. Maybe a painting, I don’t know really.” He waved a hand nonchalantly, then stopped when he noticed the confused look the woman was giving him. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You don’t know?” 

“Don’t know? Don’t know what?” Matt was seriously confused and starting to get pissed off about all the secrecy that was going on surrounding this auction.

“This auction isn’t selling paintings or anything like that at all; they’re selling-” The end of her sentence was cut off by a man on the stage tapping the microphone. “They’re going to get started now, I should stop talking.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, if I could have your attention please.” Matt turned to face the front as the man on the stage started talking. “I see many familiar faces out there, so I’m going to assume most of you know the rules of these auctions. However, for those of you who may be joining us for the first time, there are a couple of ground rules that need to be adhered to. They’re pretty simple: first off, you may not leave this building until either you have made a purchase or until the auction is over, and secondly, no phone calls will be made until the auction is over. Other than that, the only things you need to know is that if you do purchase an item, you will pick it up and pay for it at the desk where your IDs were checked. Also, we have some very special, one night only pieces that we’ll be showing about halfway through the auction, so make sure to stick around for that.” With that, the man exited the stage, and Matt leaned over to whisper to Derek.

“Okay, seriously dude, what kind of auction is this? This lady I was talking to said that they weren’t selling like paintings or anything like that; what are they selling?” Before Derek could answer, Matt’s question was answered for him by one of the security guards coming out onto the stage with another woman. Only this woman wasn’t finely dressed or professional looking like the others that Matt had seen. Maybe in her early twenties, she was clothed in an ill-fitting, too short dress and painfully high stiletto heels. And before Matt’s brain could even begin to wrap around what this meant, the people around them started bidding.

Bidding on the poor, too thin woman standing up on the stage.

Matt’s head snapped over to glare at Derek, his hand reaching out to grab his friend’s arm in a tight grip.

“They’re selling people?! This is a fucking human auction?” He hissed through clenched teeth. “Are you fucking kidding me; you thought I’d enjoy human trafficking?!” Derek just shrugged and grinned, pushing Matt’s hand off of his arm.

“Just thought it’d be something different. C’mon dude, it’s not like we’re gonna buy anyone, so calm down. I thought you were open to new experiences.”

“Not like this; this is fucking sick!” Matt stood up angrily. “I’m leaving, and if you’re smart, you will too!” However, Derek grabbed Matt’s arm and pulled him back down as people began to notice the outburst.

“You can’t, remember? No one can leave until they either buy something or until the auction is over. So just sit down and wait it out; it’s not that bad.”

Matt flopped back down in his chair, because as shitty as it was, Derek was right. He really didn’t want to try the patience of those security guards over one of the only rules that they had specified. He sat fuming, arms crossed, through several sales of people, each as emaciated and sad looking as the first. After one more disturbingly young woman was sold for an obscenely high price, the first man who had announced the rules came back out onto the stage.

“Alright now ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for our special segment of tonight. These few people are the ones we’ve saved especially for this segment because we think they’re unique or desirable in some way.” He waved a hand, and a security guard came out with a little girl, probably only around seven years old or so. Matt gritted his teeth and looked away until she was sold; he really didn’t want to know how much she was sold for or who she was sold to. He looked up when he heard the next person come onstage, and blinked in surprise.

The person that they had brought out was a guy, the first that Matt had seen all night being sold, and wondered if that’s what categorized him as “special.” The guy didn’t look any older than Matt himself, and had shaggy, nearly chin-length black hair that kept falling in his face no matter how much he tried to brush it back. Like all the other people for sale, he wasn’t wearing much in the way of clothing, just a simple T-shirt and jeans. Unlike the others though, who at least looked somewhat decent, this guy had bruises that Matt could see even though they’d obviously tried to use some makeup to cover them. Apart from that, he was surprisingly pretty, and Matt really, really didn’t want to know what whoever bought him would do to him. As they started the bidding, Matt somehow managed to catch the sad gaze of the guy being sold. He then wished that he hadn’t, because that look was so sad, it tugged on Matt’s heart and he had to wrench his own gaze away, fighting back the sudden urge to cry. After a moment though, that urge was replaced by something angrier, something entirely fed up with this shitshow that he had been dragged to. He wanted to get out of here, and now, and he damn well wasn’t waiting for this auction to be over to do so. Which meant he only had one other choice. 

Matt, quickly so he didn’t have the chance to overthink it, raised the little card with the number on it. He saw Derek look at him, first in shock, and then his expression changed to kind of an “oho, I knew you’d see it my way” look. Matt ignored him and concentrated on his bidding for this poor guy. Soon, the price was a little bit uncomfortably high for Matt’s taste, but he stubbornly kept going, because it was just between him and one other person, an older gentleman whom Matt didn’t like the looks of at all. The starting price for the young man had been three thousand dollars,, but that had quickly skyrocketed up to nearly seven thousand in a matter of minutes. But now Matt was fucking committed to helping this guy, to get him out of this sketchy place and business, because he sure didn’t look happy being in it. Now the price really was at seven thousand, and Matt was starting to worry that it would go even higher. Sure, he had some money, but he was only an aspiring musician who worked as a substitute music teacher on the side; he wasn’t rich by any stretch of the imagination.

But by some miracle, once the amount hit seven thousand, the older gentleman must have had the same thought that Matt had about money and stopped bidding, leaving Matt to bid once more above that amount and actually win the bid. He sank back against his chair, trying to keep his hands from shaking, and noticed that Derek was looking at him, a sick, smug grin on his face.

“Why the fuck are you looking at me like that?”

“You know why. Ended up bidding after all, you sly little-”

“Shut the fuck up, I just want to get out of here, and now I can. You can stay if you want, but I’m leaving. Give me your keys”

“What?”

“Give me your keys. I’ll come back later and pick you up. Just text me when you’re done.”

Reluctantly, Derek handed over his keys. With that, Matt got up out of his chair and stormed off to the desk where they had checked IDs, remembering that the first guy had said that they would pick up and pay for their “purchases” there. A woman in a smart business suit was sitting there, and under normal circumstances, Matt would have thought that she was worth flirting with, but he was so flustered and pissed off that flirting was the last thing on his mind. Right now, he just wanted to get himself and this poor guy out of here. After that, he didn’t know, but for right now, his main goal was to leave. 

“Hello, are you here to pay for your purchase, sir?” Matt nodded tersely, not trusting himself to speak without either yelling or laughing hysterically. “Alright, I’ll just need you to fill out some paperwork for me.” She reached below her into a bin and pulled out a stack of paperwork and handed it and a pen to Matt. “There you are, just give it to me when you’re done; I’m going to go get your purchase.” Matt took both from her sharply, not bothering to hide his irritation and disgust at this whole procedure. As he started to fill it out the multiple sheets of paperwork, he noticed that there was one sheet that had specific information about the guy he had bought on it. Finishing up signing and filling out the rest of the paperwork, he took that one sheet and skimmed it over, wanting to find one certain piece of information before he actually met the guy.

“Alright, are you all finished with that?” Matt startled and looked up to find that the woman had come back with the black haired man in tow. He looked even worse close up, underfed and bony with those deep bruises that the shoddy makeup job weren’t exactly covering up. Those sad, soulful eyes were even more pitiable up close, and Matt had to tear his gaze away back to the woman, nodding and holding out the stack of paperwork.

“Wonderful! And do you need anything else?”

“Anything else? Like what?”

“Oh, you know, do you need him sent somewhere? Do you need any wrapping for him?” And Matt was starting to find this woman less attractive and more unnerving as the minutes went by. 

“No, I’ll be taking him with m-wait, what do you mean, “wrapping?””

“Clothes.” Matt jumped, because the quiet word had come not from the woman, but from the dark haired guy standing meekly next to her.

“Could’ve just said that in the first place,” Matt muttered. “No, I’ll get him some proper clothes that actually fit, thanks. C’mon, let’s get out of here; this place is giving me the fucking creeps.” He beckoned slightly and started off, expecting the guy to follow him. And he did, falling into step next to and slightly behind Matt. 

“Your name is Reid? Reid Henry, right?” The sleek head nodded once, not making eye contact with Matt at all, which Matt found a little unnerving. “Okay Reid, first things first, you’re safe with me, I’m not gonna be an asshole to you; I just wanted to get out of there, and I’m assuming you did too.” Matt unlocked the doors of Derek’s car, and slid into the driver’s seat, while Reid hesitantly got in the passenger side. Matt took a deep breath and leaned back against the seat, throwing an arm over his eyes. After a minute, he felt a gentle touch on his arm, slim cold fingers on his elbow.

“Are you alright, sir?” The soft question, plus the obvious term of respect turned Matt’s stomach; he was supposed to be helping Reid, not the other way around. He’d actually done this, he’d actually bought a human being at an auction. All of these thoughts at once had him leaning forward, head in his hands, all the anger and tears he’d held back while inside finally coming to the surface in a storm of near silent crying. Thus preoccupied, he didn’t notice that Reid was almost as flustered and emotional as he was. The dark haired man had his hand held slightly over Matt’s arm, as it had been jolted off of it when Matt had leaned forward, and now he wasn’t quite sure if he should put it back on Matt’s arm to try to comfort him again. Because this person, this guy who had bought him was quite unlike any other owner Reid had ever had so far, more emotional and less intimidating by far. 

So somehow, Reid didn’t feel like it would be wrong to want to comfort him. Nor did he feel like he would be mad if Reid tried to comfort him, so he put his hand back on the arm in front of him, rubbing it a little to try and be soothing.

Apparently it worked, because after a while, Matt sat up again, wiping the back of his hand over his eyes to dry them.

“Sorry about that, I didn’t mean to get all emotional like that; it’s just a lot of emotions to go through when you buy a fucking person. Not that I regret it in the slightest.” He found the keys again and started up the car. “Let’s get home, shall we?”


	2. Chapter 2 - A

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder: Since we wrote this with each person doing a chapter, whoever wrote the chapter will have an initial next to the chapter number in the little drop down menu thing and their username in the top notes so people can tell.  
> Stop by our blogs on Tumblr and chat us up! Artio is parti-hardi-arti and Tamix13 is fools-canbe-kings!
> 
> (Artio)

The streetlights flashed past at an even pace as they drove through the night. Maybe a little too quick of a pace, but the streets were nearly empty anyway and Matt was anxious to get home. They’d both fallen silent after Matt’s little breakdown, leaving an awkwardness hanging in the air. But what would he even talk about with someone in Reid’s situation? Sorry for purchasing him, another human being, off god knows who? What’s it like being up for auction? Want some tunes?

The car pulled up to the first stoplight there’d been in ten minutes. Silence continued to weigh down on them until Matt realized something: he knew Reid’s name from the papers, but Reid had called him sir. He glanced over at the passenger side. “I’m Matt, by the way. I think I forgot to tell you my name.”

Reid nodded but continued staring at the dashboard in front of him, thumb holding the seatbelt about an inch from his chest. Matt couldn’t really blame the guy for not wanting to be too tightly restrained.

The light turned green and they made their way through several more in continued silence. Matt wanted to keep talking to him but was strapped for ideas on what to bring up, plus he wasn’t sure Reid was even paying attention.

With a sigh, Matt rounded the last corner onto his street. The off-white ranch style house came into view, a nearby streetlight illuminating the driveway as Matt pulled into it. Derek’s car took up more space than he liked, but at least it didn’t spill over onto his small, still green lawn. “Well, here we are.” He announced after they’d both gotten out. They walked between the two flower beds flanking the entryway, the last flowers of the season greeting them as they passed by. “Not the biggest place, but it’s cozy.” Matt unlocked the front door and pushed it open to a big, very excited black dog.

Shit, he’d completely forgotten about Buddy. Coming home to his black lab was so second nature to Matt that he hadn’t even thought about going in first and crating him. Before Matt could devise a plan to get Buddy locked up somewhere, the lab pushed the door with his muzzle and let himself out. He hopped in place and wagged his tail a mile a minute at his returned owner. “Buddy, sit!” Matt tried, but it was too late. Buddy had noticed their new guest. With the excitement only a dog could have over a stranger showing up to the house, Buddy trotted over, tail still wagging, and sniffed Reid’s legs. Matt watched worriedly, waiting for Buddy to jump up on Reid like he did with other visitors, but to his surprise Buddy simply sniffed a circle around the newcomer before calmly nosing his hand for pets. And an even better surprise was Reid’s equally calm demeanor as he obliged.

Remembering his mistake from earlier, Matt quickly introduced his lab. “This is Buddy. He’s not the best listener, as you can see. Don’t let him slobber on you too much, he drools when he’s excited.”

Reid nodded to acknowledge he heard Matt but kept his focus on petting the pleased dog’s head.

“Y’know what, he probably needs to go out, actually.” Matt held the front door open as Buddy scrambled inside and Reid cautiously followed. Once everyone was in, Matt shut the door behind them and locked it, earning a timid glance from Reid. He almost didn’t catch it as he made his way out of the room with dog in tow. Buddy’s toenails clicked on the hardwood floor as he scampered through the kitchen and dining room to the back door. The cold draft that came in as Matt opened it reminded him that Reid was probably freezing in his thin, poorly fitting clothes. He headed back into the living room where Reid stood perfectly still and tense in the same spot. It didn’t even seem like his eyes had moved. Wasn’t he at all curious about where he was? “Lemme show you around real quick and then I’ll grab you something better to wear, ok?” Matt gestured for him to follow.

“Ok.” The reply was so quiet it made him question if he’d even heard it at all.

They took a couple minutes and went around the house, Matt leading and naming each room while Reid wordlessly followed in step, until they reached the hallway that lead to the two bedrooms.

“The bedroom at that end is mine, so the guest room down here can be yours.” Matt explained as they walked into the second bedroom. Reid stared at the sparsely covered bed. “I think there’s enough pillows in here, but I’ll get more blankets for you. I don’t have people stay over too often,” Matt said with a joking tone, but he wasn’t sure Reid had been listening. “So, uh, yeah. That’s about it. There’s a bathroom attached to my bedroom so you can use the one in the hall. It should be all set up in there. Probably cleaner too.”

Still not making eye contact, Reid turned his head towards Matt. “Can I take a shower?”

“Yeah, of course. Towels are under the sink.”

Reid gave his now signature acknowledging nod before walking quietly out of the room. After he heard the bathroom door close, Matt let himself plop onto the foot of the bed. All the events of the night were still seeping in slowly but surely. He could already tell he wasn’t going to be sleeping great with so much on his mind. What was he even going to do with Reid? Calling the cops was out of the question since Matt had noticed a few at the auction, brazenly in uniform and all. Dropping Reid off at some shelter seemed like the last thing the guy needed right now, and one of the last things Matt wanted to do anyway. But could he really keep him at his house indefinitely?

He decided to come back to that question later. Right now, he needed to get Reid comfortable and at least somewhat believing that he was safe. Then they could worry about the next step.

Matt reluctantly got up from the bed and went to dig through his dresser for clothes that might fit Reid. Or at least, fit him a little better.They’d somehow have to make it through clothes shopping if they wanted anything that was actually his size. Matt found what worked best of the clothes he had and set them aside. The loose pants and short sleeve shirt would be enough to keep him warm, but they wouldn’t completely cover those bruises Matt had noticed at the auction. They were probably from the last person that bought him, right? How long had Reid been with them? Had he just been forced into trafficking recently or was this one of many times up at the auction block for him? The images of the little girl who’d looked barely seven years old that had been sold at the beginning of the specials came back to Matt. His papers said he was twenty-six, if Reid had started at a young age like the little girl, how many owners had he had before? How many of those disgusting bastards had gotten their hands on him?

The sound of the shower turning off snapped Matt out of his thoughts. He didn’t really want to know those answers anyway, not yet at least. He’d let Reid tell him on his own terms.

Matt gathered up the clothes he had picked out and headed towards the bathroom, making sure to take his time so Reid could get a towel and dry off first. Gently, he knocked on the bathroom door.“Hey, just me. I brought some clothes for you.” A strange scraping noise came from behind the door in response. Matt paused, not sure how to react. There were a few more sounds of things being moved around before the door finally unlocked. What was Reid rearranging in there? Had he blocked the door with stuff?

There wasn’t much time to ponder it as the door opened a touch. Matt looked away and held the clothes up to the opening, not wanting to catch him off guard. He felt Reid take the clothes from him before the door shut again. It didn’t sound like Reid was moving anything this time, though. Had he barricaded himself in there while he was showering?

Instead of dwelling on the implications of that, Matt decided to go get some extra blankets for the guest room. It was definitely going to be a long night if he kept letting his mind try to piece together Reid’s past. With the hallway closet only a few steps away, it didn’t take long at all for him to scoop up the fluffier blankets and move them to the other room. He made half an attempt to fold them nicely before turning to walk back out into the hallway.

“Jesus!” Matt jumped, startled by Reid silently standing in the doorway like some horror movie character. “Ugh, sorry man, you scared me there. We might have to get a bell for you.” Regret followed those words closely. For all he knew, maybe one of the past owners had actually done just that. The point was dug in a little deeper by Reid still not making any eye contact, probably the doing of another past owner.

What caught his attention next though were the bruises from earlier. Matt knew there had been quite a few poorly covered with makeup, but now that the makeup was washed off he could see the full extent of them. Swaths of black, blue, and red covered his arms in close together, regular lines that looked like they should connect at the ends. Four sections, one on each forearm and one on each upper arm, had the same pattern. It wasn’t difficult to tell they were left by some sort of rope or binding. With the way the oversized shirt hung off to one side, it was obvious there were other bruises hidden from view on his shoulders too.

Matt took a cautious step towards Reid, glancing over the marks again. “Good god... Don’t those hurt?”

Reid didn’t respond but hung his head a little lower.

“How many more do you have?” Without getting a reply again, Matt moved closer to Reid, wanting to turn over his arms and see how much skin they covered but deciding against touching him. “Can you take your shirt off please?” Reid visibly tensed at the request but did so anyway, in the process uncovering even more dark patches across his skin. Across his chest were well defined bruises, with the hand that made them still visible in the red-edged prints. They looked like they were from being slapped, most likely by a larger man judging by the size. Dotting his shoulders were vaguer, finger-sized bruises that were probably caused by gripping or grabbing. The force it must’ve taken to leave marks like that was unthinkable. What Matt thought were even larger bruises on the uppermost parts of Reid’s arms turned out to be tattoos, a sun on one side and a crescent moon over mountains on the other. Matt only briefly stopped to wonder if he’d gotten those by choice before moving to look at his back. Numerous bright red marks in the shape of a belt crisscrossed over the top half of it. A few were split open along the edges in a testament to how hard the hits had been. Even with all the other injuries, the open cuts looked the most painful. And leaving them untreated and uncovered for who knows how long couldn’t have helped.

“We gotta clean these up.” Matt mumbled, hoping Reid heard him. He wanted to check if there were any on Reid’s legs but seeing how nervous he was with his shirt off was enough to dissuade Matt from even bringing it up. “Here, let’s go back into the bathroom and I’ll put some bandages over those.”

Reid fell into his usual step behind as they made their way into the still warm bathroom. He stood off to the side as Matt got a small first aid kit from under the sink and took out an array of bandages.

“Ok, turn around for me.” Warily, Reid complied while Matt opened a packet of ointment. “This might sting.” And judging by the small, sharp inhale Reid took as a little was rubbed onto the first cut, it did. Matt tried to be quick with the rest of the ointment, not wanting to cause him any more pain than necessary. He took his time getting the bandages on though, partially to make sure they were placed correctly and partially to get a better look at the various marks that marred the skin in front of him. It was hard to imagine someone willingly, maybe even joyously, leaving those welts and wounds on a person already so physically and mentally fragile.

Once the last bandage was placed, Matt threw the packaging away and snapped the kit shut. He pretended not to notice Reid’s twitch at the noise. “Alright, that’s all of them. When the bandages start coming off we’ll see which ones need to be covered again.”

Reid turned back around as tense as ever. “Thank you, sir.”

Matt internally cringed at the formal address. So that hadn’t been just because Reid didn’t know his name after all. “You don’t have to call me sir, you can call me Matt. It’s ok, really.” He tried to explain gently.

Reid absently nodded, looking like something else was troubling him.

Matt was about to ask what was wrong when Reid fell with a thunk to his knees. He immediately offered a hand to help him up. “Whoa, you ok?”

“Yes.” Reid replied, ignoring the offer.

“Then what are you doing?”

“Repaying you.”

“What?” If Matt wasn’t confused before, he sure was now. That answer didn’t sit right but he couldn’t figure out why. At least, not until Reid scooched a bit closer, chin up, and went to undo his belt. “Oh, no no no! Reid, no!” Matt grabbed his hands before he could get any further. ”Don’t do that!”

“But I have to repay you.” Reid seemed genuinely confused at Matt stopping him.

“You don’t have to do anything, and especially not that! Stand up!”

“But-”

“No, none of that.” Matt half helped, half hauled him up off the floor. “You don’t have to repay me for anything. If you really want to do something in return, put your shirt back on and go get settled in for the night, ok?”

The continued lack of eye contact added to the uneasiness on both sides. “Ok,” he replied lowly.

“I’m serious. You don’t ever have to repay me, like that or otherwise.” Matt let go of Reid’s hands at the small acknowledgement that he’d heard. He silently padded out of the bathroom and back to the bedroom.

It took Matt a second to regain his composure. Did Reid really think he had to repay him just for simply helping him like that? And repay him with a blow job nonetheless? He couldn’t imagine how fucked up Reid’s self-worth had to be then.

With a deep breath to stabilize himself, Matt turned off the bathroom light and went to let Buddy in for the night. It made him a little envious to see how unaware and enthusiastic the big mutt was as he came racing back into the house. Buddy got a rather sloppy drink from his bowl and happily wandered into the other parts of the house while Matt went around and made sure all the doors were locked. Getting ready for bed wasn’t high on the list of things he wanted to do. He knew he’d be up most of the night plagued by thoughts of what Reid’s past must’ve been like, but he had to at least try to get some decent sleep if he wanted to keep helping him.

It was quarter past one when Matt was finally about to turn in for the night, but he wanted to check on Reid one last time before he did. After the incident in the bathroom he had no clue what condition Reid was in.

Matt lightly knocked on the mostly closed bedroom door before opening it any wider. “Just wanted to check on you before I go to bed,” he said quietly in case Reid was already sleeping. Instead he found the bed empty. And not only empty but completely bare of any covers or pillows. A dog-shaped shadow caught his eye in front of the closet. “Buddy? What’re you doing in here?” The lab sleepily thumped his tail against the floor a few times as Matt turned the light on. “Did you steal all the blankets?” The lazily wagging tail drew his attention to the closet door, which was slightly ajar. He walked over to it, careful not to step on Buddy as he opened it enough to peek in. The previously empty closet was now full of various blankets, the blankets Matt had gotten out earlier, with pillows lining the sides like some sort of bird’s nest. In the middle of the heap was a mass of black hair he could only just make out amongst the blankets. “Reid?” He jolted upright at the voice, startled out of an early sleep. “Sorry, just making sure you’re ok for the night.” Reid pushed himself a little closer to the wall behind him. “Didn’t mean to wake you. I’m gonna go to bed now. Buddy’s out here in front of the closet door for ya if you need him.” Wide eyes briefly flicked up to Matt’s face, still not quite making eye contact but checking his expression. Was Reid afraid of him? What did he think he might do? Regardless, Matt took it as his sign to leave him alone, even if he was hiding in the closet. “Well, uh, goodnight.” Matt backed away and carefully closed the door as far as it had been when he found it. Buddy was beginning to snore as he tiptoed back over him and to his own bedroom.

He had barely gotten into his bed when his phone buzzed on the nightstand. Turning the phone over showed the last name he wanted to see on the screen. Derek. The auction must’ve ended and he needed his car back. It didn’t even take Matt a full second to decide to flip the phone back over unanswered. The fucker was stranded? Well, maybe that’s what he got for trying to get him to willingly participate in human trafficking. Matt would have to take some time to think about what he ever did to give Derek the impression he’d be interested in that.

The whole thing felt like a bad dream at that point. How did he go from Derek driving him to this much bragged about auction hoping to pick up some cheap furniture to just a few hours later having a horribly bruised sex slave sleeping in the guest closet? It didn’t seem possible for things to change so much in so little time. Maybe Matt would wake up in the morning only to find it’d been some crazy dream. But if it did turn out to be real, then he’d promise to do the best he could to help Reid.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3 - T

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one's a touch late, it's been a very busy week! ~Arti
> 
> (Tamix13)

Matt woke up to a cold nose in his face and birds chirping outside his window. Groggily pushing Buddy’s muzzle out of the way, Matt groaned. He hadn’t gotten much sleep at all, a couple of hours at the most, and even those had mostly been him tossing and turning and trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in. But Buddy didn’t care about his owner’s lack of sleep. He jumped on the bed and pushed his nose against Matt’s cheeks and neck. The dog’s playful attitude dragged a smile out of Matt as he swung his legs out of bed.

“Fine, fine let’s take you out.” The cold floor on his bare feet made him wince. The eager dog, tail wagging and toenails clicking, lead him to the patio door to be let out. Standing and watching Buddy bound around in the yard made Matt wish that he could be that worry-free. Having a dog’s life sounded pretty damn good right about then. Shaking his head over Buddy trying to catch a squirrel, Matt took a quick trip to Reid’s room to check up on him, wondering if he had actually stayed in the closet the entire night. He knocked softly, careful not to startle him, then peeked in the door. Everything was exactly as it had been the previous night. Matt made his way over to the closet to look inside. Sure enough, Reid was still curled up in his nest of blankets, sound asleep. Thinking he’d let the guy sleep as long as he wanted to, Matt made his way back into the kitchen, set on making some breakfast for them.

Looking into his fridge had Matt making a mental reminder to go shopping now that two people were living (for however long) in the house. He barely had enough food to feed himself, let alone another guy. But he did have enough eggs to make some scrambled eggs and figured that would be a universal enough breakfast for Reid to like. So he set about making the eggs and some toast, singing softly to himself while he worked. He also wondered if Reid was going to be alright in the house by himself because Matt had a subbing job the next day. Now that he had spent so much at the auction he really needed the money. Lost in thought, he didn’t notice Reid pad into the room on silent, socked feet.

“Do you need any help?” Matt jumped, nearly burning himself on the hot pan.

“Jeez kid, you’re like a fucking ghost. I don’t need any help in here, but you could go let Buddy in. I’m sure he’s ready to eat by now.” Reid nodded and went to the patio door. Same as yesterday, Buddy stilled before actually coming in, nudging Reid’s hand gently before going to beg by his bowl. Matt set the plates of food out on the table first then went to give Buddy some food and fresh water, watching as the dog happily dug in.

“Well I’d say we take that as a sign to eat too. Food’s on the table if you want some. I just made some scrambled eggs and toast. Figured that would be okay with you.” However, Reid just stood there, looking at the food with large, suspicious eyes. 

“What’s wrong?” Matt asked, sitting down at the table. “You can eat y’know.” Reid just shook his head, gaze still aimed at the floor with his arms crossed nervously. “Are you not hungry?” Another shake of the head and Matt frowned. “Well, I can always wrap it up for you to eat later I guess. Otherwise if you don’t want this, there’s some cereal in the cupboard above the microwave and bowls in the one on the right of it if you want some of that later.” Reid simply nodded, never once looking Matt in the eyes, and left as silently as he had come.

Shaking his head at the strangeness of it all, Matt simply chalked it up to what Reid had gone through and settled down to eat his own breakfast before it got cold. Matt noticed Buddy was oddly nowhere to be found. Usually the big dog was right by Matt’s side when he ate, continuously begging for scraps. Shrugging it off, and kind of grateful that he got his whole breakfast to himself for once, he started to think about just what he was going to do about Reid. First things first, they would have to go get the poor kid some properly fitting clothes. He couldn’t just keep wearing Matt’s. Fall was rapidly approaching, meaning that the weather was going to start to get colder, and Matt didn’t have a spare coat that he could lend to Reid. So a shopping trip was on the agenda to start, and he wondered if the younger man would be willing to let Matt take him to the doctor. He really doubted that Reid would be overjoyed at the prospect of yet another stranger touching him, but Matt was worried. Not only about all of those cuts and bruises, but also about what else might be wrong with him, physically or mentally. Some of the traits that Reid was showing looked suspiciously like PTSD or an anxiety disorder to Matt. Finished with his food, Matt got up to put his dishes in the dishwasher before going in search of Reid and Buddy. He found them both surprisingly quickly. They were in the living room on the floor where Buddy was rolled on his back getting some prime belly rubs from Reid, who looked more content than Matt had seen him yet.

“Well I’m glad you two are getting along so well,” he said, quietly so as not to startle Reid. The younger man looked up, not quite making eye contact, but closer than any other time thus far.

“I like dogs,” he said simply. “I always have, and Buddy is probably one of the best behaved dogs I’ve met.”

“Yeah just wait until he’s begging you for your food. I’m actually surprised he’s being so good. Normally he’s a bit too hyper for most people. Maybe you’re a good influence.” Matt laughed at Reid’s confused expression. “Well, you keep each other company, I’m going to go take a quick shower. After that I was thinking we go and get you some actual clothes. Winter’s coming up and I’m afraid I don’t have an extra coat that I can lend you, plus then you’ll have your own clothes. Sound good?” Reid nodded slowly, looking slightly apprehensive. Matt assumed that it was because he was still unsure about Matt doing him favors that he didn’t have to repay.  

When Matt went to his room, he noticed that his phone was still flipped over from the night before. He automatically checked it to see if anyone had called or texted him while he had been busy. He was greeted with around ten missed calls and twice that many texts from Derek, who was obviously pissed about Matt not coming to pick him up from the auction. Matt briefly wondered how or if Derek had gotten home. Deciding that he really did not care at all, he tossed the phone onto his bed and went to take a quick shower.

After showering and getting dressed, Matt headed back into the main part of the house to find Reid so that they could get on with the shopping. He checked the living room first, because that was the last place that he had seen Reid, but neither him nor Buddy had stayed there.

“Reid?” he called, not really expecting an answer. He made his way into the kitchen and found Reid eating a bowl of cereal standing up with Buddy pacing around his feet, hoping for a handout. Matt smiled, part of him confused by why Reid was eating cereal when he hadn’t been hungry before and part of him amused by his dog’s shameless begging.

“I thought you weren’t hungry,” he teased gently, and Reid startled, coming near to actually dropping his bowl. “Hey, hey, it’s okay, I’m just teasing you. You can eat whenever you want to; I’m not stopping you. I was just wondering why you said you weren’t hungry before. You could have just told me you didn’t want the eggs. Do you not like eggs?”

“I do like eggs, I just... I have a problem with people making me food when I can’t actually see them making it.” Reid’s voice was so quiet that Matt almost couldn’t hear it, and the younger’s eyes were fixed on the floor by Matt’s feet.

“Why would you…?” Matt cut himself off as something hit him about what Reid had just told him. “Reid, did someone drug you like that?”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, but... yes I’ve been drugged multiple times when I haven’t been paying close enough attention. It’s not your fault; you wouldn’t have known.”

“Reid, if something bothers you, or if you’re uncomfortable with something, I want you to tell me okay? Don’t feel bad about it, I want to know what makes you uneasy so we can avoid it. I don’t want to unknowingly do things that upset you.” Reid simply nodded, raising his head to quickly, and for the first time, look Matt in the eyes.

“I’ll try…”

“That’s all I need. Now I know to let you see what I’m doing when I make food.”

“I can help you make food if you’d like,” Reid said shyly. “I’m not a great cook, but I can still help.”

“We could try that, yeah. And don’t worry, I’m not a great cook either, so you’re not alone there.” Reid gave him a very tiny smile, and Matt was amazed by just how much that small effort seemed to change his whole face. But it only lasted for a second before he was the old Reid again, gaze towards the floor and that solemn look back on his face.

“Well, shall we go get you some actual clothes then? I’m sure you’ll feel much better once you have some clothes that actually fit you and that you can call your own, huh?”

“I don’t have any way to pay for them though,” was Reid’s protest, but Matt just shook his head.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll buy them for you. Think of it like a present.”

“But-”

“No, I don’t care what other people have told you; when I give you a gift, it’s just that: a gift. I won’t expect anything in return, got it?” Matt felt kind of bad, using Reid’s submissive behavior like this, but he couldn’t really think of another way to get his point across. Had no one done anything genuinely nice for this poor kid without expecting something in return?

Reid nodded, not looking happy with this outcome, but followed Matt obediently enough when Matt got them both sweaters to wear outside.

“A proper coat and some sweaters are definitely high priority items on our list,” Matt announced as he grabbed his own car keys and led Reid into the garage. “It gets pretty damn cold here, and I’d hate for you to get sick just because you don’t have a coat. Other than that, I’ll let you use your own judgement on what you want or think you need.”

The store was packed when they got there and the panicked look in Reid’s eyes when they went inside only reaffirmed Matt’s suspicions that this was probably a really bad idea. But Reid needed clothes, and this was Matt’s only day off until the weekend, so he wanted to get it done as soon as possible.

“Crowds?” Matt murmured to him and Reid nodded slightly, inching slightly closer to the taller man for comfort. “Alright, well let’s try to be quick about this then and stick to one store if we can.”

They made it through one store, getting Reid some basic clothes and sweaters and the like, but they couldn’t find any good winter coats. Matt decided to head to one more store just to see if they had any decent ones there. He could tell that Reid was getting more and more panicked, but a winter coat was the one thing that he really wanted for the younger man, so he persisted.

It turned out to be a bad idea as the store was extremely crowded.

“Are you going to be alright or do you just want to leave?” He asked Reid, concerned about how pale he looked. Reid just shook his head.

“I’ll be alright I think… Let’s just get it over with…” Matt was hesitant because Reid really didn’t look alright, but he agreed with the “get it over with” sentiment. It was crowded in the store even for him so he couldn’t imagine how Reid felt if he was uncomfortable with crowds. 

They found a rack of winter coats pretty easily in this store as opposed to the last one, so Matt counted that as a plus in their favor. He turned to the coats to look for a good one that would last the whole winter and be warm enough for Reid. He found a suitable candidate, and turned to show it to Reid, who he thought was still behind him.

“Here, what about this o- Reid, where’d you go?” Slightly panicked, Matt whirled on the spot, trying to catch a glimpse of the red hoodie that he’d lent the younger man. “Reid?” Finally he spotted a flash of red through the crowd. He chased after it, trying to catch Reid before he lost sight of him. Weaving through all the people, Matt saw Reid duck into a dressing room. He caught up just as Reid closed himself into one of the changing stalls and locked the door with an audible click. Matt groaned softly, wishing he’d just listened to his gut instinct and gone home despite not finding a coat. He’d seen Reid getting more and more panicked by the large amounts of people, and now he felt bad for pushing the younger man outside his small comfort zone. Matt sank down to sit in front of the locked door, thinking about what he could possibly do or say to calm Reid down enough so that he would feel comfortable to come out. 

“Reid?” he tried. “Reid, let’s go home and try this a different day, okay? I’m sorry for making you do this when it’s so busy and you’re obviously uncomfortable with crowds.” Matt felt the door shift slightly then heard Reid’s voice softly, and realized that the other man had sat down against the opposite side of the door. 

“I just didn’t want you to see that I was scared… I’ve had people tell me that it’s a weakness to let others see when you’re scared or crying…” Matt closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the sturdy door and cursing every single person who’d ever told Reid something that led to him being like this.

“Well I don’t think that, so you feel free to express any emotion you want in front of me. I won’t think any less of you for it, trust me. But why don’t we get out of here so we can talk about it somewhere that’s not a changing room, yeah?” There was a soft laugh from the other side of the door and Matt smiled slightly. He got up so that Reid could open the door. Though he had coaxed a laugh out of him, Reid was pretty subdued and quiet on the drive home, choosing to look out the window instead of at Matt whenever Matt tried to strike up a conversation. Eventually, the older man just left Reid to his thoughts and focused instead on what he could possibly make for dinner.

When they got back, Matt suggested that Reid go put his clothes away, thinking that would make Reid feel like his place at Matt’s house was a little bit more permanent. Meanwhile, he went to the kitchen to scope out the food situation, and came to the conclusion that he would need to get to the store for groceries. Matt wondered if Reid would maybe want to come with him to help pick out food since he was part of the household now. After debating over the little food he did have, Matt decided to make some noodles along with the few vegetables left. He hoped that Reid would find that agreeable. Matt went to go give Buddy some food again, stalling until Reid came back from his bedroom. He remembered from that morning that the younger man had a thing about people making his food when he couldn’t see it.

When Reid did come back out, he was wearing some of the new sweatpants that they had bought for him. But Matt did notice that he was still wearing one of the borrowed T-shirts. Matt focused on dinner instead of saying anything about that.

“I’m gonna make dinner now, just so you can watch me, but if you’re not hungry that’s okay.”

“What are you making?” Reid surprised him by actually responding.

“I’m going to make some alfredo with vegetables. I didn’t really know what you’d like and I don’t have much food right now, so I picked something fairly simple. 

“No, that sounds good actually. I’ll help you if you need it... if you want, that is…”

“You can definitely help me. What better way to actually see me make the food? And since I was thinking about going grocery shopping sometime soon, if you wanted to come with to pick out some food, you could do that too.” Reid looked mildly surprised by this. 

“I could pick out what I wanted?” 

“Of course you could; you’re living here too after all.” Matt guided Reid to the stove to start making dinner. He set the younger man to making the noodles while Matt cut up the vegetables. Reid seemed to be in a pretty good mood, so making some small talk with him was oddly easy for once. It made Matt wonder just how different Reid would be if he hadn’t been messed up by being sold to fucked up people. He seemed to be fairly extroverted and friendly when he was feeling comfortable. Matt made a mental note to try and coax that side of Reid out more often.

He was nearly done cutting up the vegetables when he remembered a question about the food that he’d wanted to ask Reid, and turned to the other man.

“Hey, quick question for you.” Reid looked over at him, but his relaxed expression quickly turned frightened for no apparent reason. “Reid?” Matt took a step closer to find out what was bothering Reid, but the younger man shrank away from him. Matt followed what his eyes were trained on and, oh, he had faced Reid holding the knife he had been using to cut the vegetables.

Matt quickly put the knife down and went to take Reid’s arms. But he must have moved too quickly because Reid flinched back from him and ended up tripping over himself. He tumbled back onto the kitchen floor with a thud.

“Oh my god, Reid I’m so sorry! I really didn’t mean to do that!” Matt wasn’t sure what to do. On one hand, he wanted to comfort Reid, but on the other, he also wanted to give him his space and not freak him out any more. In the end, it was actually Buddy who managed to calm Reid. He sat down next to him and gently nosed his cheek until the younger man reached out a hand to pet him.

“So you like dogs, huh?” Matt asked, sitting down next to Reid. He hoped that the combination of Buddy distracting him and the small talk would draw Reid back out of his shell and calm him down.

“Yeah… I remember having a dog when I was younger. I don’t remember what breed but it was big like Buddy.”

“When you were younger? What age did you start… y’know…” Reid’s gaze darkened a bit.

“I really don’t want to talk about that… please. At least not right now.” Matt was stunned into silence by the sudden forcefulness, but kept his curiosity about Reid’s past to himself. It was a quiet moment before Matt got up and held out a hand to Reid. He didn’t really expect him to take it, but wanted him to know that the thought was there. To Matt’s surprise however, Reid did accept the help. He snatched his hand right back afterwards, but at least he had let Matt help him.

Matt took over the rest of the cooking duties while Reid sat at the table and kept a close, nervous eye on things. It wasn’t long afterwards that dinner was done. With a friendly smile, Matt gently set the plates on the table, trying to keep Reid calm and somewhat comfortable. He noticed Reid didn’t touch his food until Matt sat down himself. They ate in silence, but Matt simply took the time to appreciate Reid actually eating something he’d made.

“Are you okay to go to bed?” Matt asked softly after they’d finished, not wanting Reid to go to bed scared.

The younger man nodded. “I think so…”

Matt let Reid go get ready for bed. Again, he felt like he had way too much weighing on his mind to really want to sleep but he did need to at least try. Attempting to control rowdy, restless little kids on no sleep was not something he ever wanted to do again.

Deciding to go check on Reid before he went to sleep, Matt found the bed empty. He assumed that Reid was still sleeping in the closet. Buddy was lying in front of the closet door, seemingly guarding it. When he noticed Matt, he raised his head briefly, huffed, then laid his head back down as if to say “don’t worry about it.” Smiling to himself that his goofy dog had somehow become a guard dog, the older man went back to his room, satisfied that Reid was well-protected.


	4. Chapter 4 - A

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was revised a little quickly so hopefully everything's a-ok. On an immature note, the chapter index spells TATA now. hehe
> 
> (Artio)

 

The shrill noise beside the bed startled Matt awake. He fumbled in the darkness for the one thing he knew would silence it, at least for five more minutes. Finally, he managed to hit the snooze button, but not before the alarm clock had been going off long enough to wake him up for good. Now he couldn't even get his extra five minutes of sleep in.

Groggily, he sat up and turned on the light. It didn't matter how long he subbed for, getting up before dawn never got any easier for him. Buddy wasn’t even there raring to go yet.

It took a few minutes to motivate himself enough to get out of his nice warm bed. He hadn’t slept great again either, which didn’t help with his reluctance to get ready. The purposefully too cold shower woke him up mentally but not physically as he struggled with his clothes. Even just getting a spoon out of the drawer for his cereal nearly cost him a smashed finger. After eating his breakfast, he shuffled back down the hallway.

Quietly, he checked in on the guest room, finding Buddy stretching awake and the closet door still closed. Reid was most likely still sleeping. That was good, he needed to rest. Who knows how many sleepless nights he’d had? But Matt couldn’t help wondering if Reid would ever use the bed. It had to be more comfortable than sleeping on the closet floor every night.

Matt gently shut the door behind him as Buddy strolled out to follow. It took the rest of his time before heading out for Matt to get Buddy outside, back inside, and fed. But he still took a second to write a quick note for Reid and stick it to the fridge. _Plenty of cereal left, Buddy fed, remote on end table by chair if you want TV, back @ 3._

The day went as planned, the first group of kids doing mostly what they were supposed to once they realized Matt wasn’t the kind of sub to put up with them taking advantage of their teacher’s absence. It was when the second group that came in had finally gotten settled that things started to go south.

Matt’s hand immediately went to his pocket as his phone started to ring. A few kids gave him sarcastic comments about how his phone shouldn’t be on in class but that worried him a lot less than the caller’s name. It was Derek, again. And rightfully so, Matt still had his car from two nights ago.

He stepped away from the sneering students to answer it, no more than hitting answer before an angry voice came through the speaker.

“Where the hell are you?”

Well, Derek clearly wasn’t one for pleasantries today. “I’m subbing a class. I told you I’d be busy Friday, man. What’s up?”

“Oh, y’know, just waiting for my car to possibly be returned to me.” Derek snapped on the other end. “Think that might happen anytime soon?”

“It’s not happening right now, if that’s what you’re implying. It’s a whole day gig this time.” Matt did frequently get calls from teachers that would only be out an hour or so, but this one was out sick. And he wasn’t about to leave early and let another sub get part of his pay so he could go deal with his asshole friend.

He could practically see Derek with his free hand on his hip. “How do I know you’re not lying to me?”

“What?”

“The light’s on at your house and Buddy didn’t bark at me when I knocked on the door like he usually does. How do I know you’re not hiding out in the bathroom talking to me right now?”

Matt wanted to offer to put one of the kids on the phone, but that wasn’t the most pressing thing Derek had just dropped on him. “You’re at my _house_?”

“Yeah I’m at your house! You don’t answer calls or texts anymore a-fucking-pparently.”

“What the-,” Matt glanced at the kids now nervously looking at him, “-heck are you doing at my house? You can’t just show up there uninvited when I’m not home.”

“How do I know you’re not home if the fucking TV’s on in there?”

Matt started walking towards the door that led outside, trying to keep the children from hearing the outburst he knew he was about to have. “How long have you been there?”

“I don’t know, long enough to practically dent your damn door trying to get my stolen car back. You wanna talk about uninvited-”

“You leave my house right god damn now.” He didn’t give a shit if he cut Derek off. The idea of Reid having to go through Derek showing up unannounced to the house and nearly beating the door in made Matt too angry to care. “You leave without your fucking car and come back only when I say you can.”

“How about I leave without my fucking car and come back with the police then? I’m sure they’d love to tear your door down and get my keys back when I tell them about how you stole it.”

Matt noticed how Derek danced around the topic of the auction. He considered using it against him but instead had to try and cool the situation. They couldn’t have the cops come over with Reid there. What would they think of him being in a house harboring a stolen car? What would they do to him? Still, it took a forced sigh for Matt to calm himself down. “Hey, you know what? I gotta finish today without being fired for profanity. How about after I’m done with work I call you and you can come over and grab your keys? Quick and easy.”

“You should pick me up and take me back to your house after damn work for all the trouble this has been,” Derek shot back, but he sounded like he was cooling off too. “Fine, I’ll come back later when you’re free. But if I find out you were hiding out inside all along…” He purposefully didn’t finish his statement.

“You won’t, don’t worry. Call you in a bit.” Matt hung up. It wasn’t like Derek was going to politely wish him a good rest of the day anyway.

Before heading back into the classroom Matt took a detour to his car and grabbed his secret substituting weapon: A large variety bag of candy. He hoped handing some out would help the students conveniently forget him almost cussing in front of the class on an angry phone call. And if the first group heard about it and complained they didn’t get any? Well, Matt would just tell the second group they’d been better behaved. It was surprisingly easy to turn kids on each other with a little candy and a compliment.

Matt’s heart rate had finally settled back down by the time the third and final group of kids came in after the short lunch break. His mind kept revisiting the scenario of Derek not waiting and bringing the cops over to the house anyway. He did his best to stay focused but with it being the last class before the weekend started he didn’t have a lot of pressure on him from the kids to be mentally present. The final bell of the day startled him out of his thoughts. Students poured out of the classroom like water from a broken dam as Matt quickly got his own things together.

Getting home after subbing was always a pain with after school traffic. Matt was torn between being impatient because he wanted to get home and check on Reid and relishing the extra time he had before having to deal with Derek. Regardless, he was thankful to be done with work when he did pull into the garage.

Inside the house was eerily quiet. Buddy was no where to be found, not even the sound of toenails clicking on the floor giving away his location. Reid was usually silent anyway but he wasn’t lingering in the kitchen or eating at the counter. Only vague noises coming from the living room gave any sign that someone might be home.

Matt walked out into the living room. One of the couches had a blanket on it that wasn’t there before and the TV was turned to what looked like cartoons but Reid and Buddy themselves were still absent. He had a feeling he knew where to find them though.

Like he thought, the guest bedroom door was shut. Matt lightly knocked before opening it just enough to look inside. Buddy was lying protectively in front of the closet door, head up and alert at the door opening. But once he realized who it was his tail began vigorously wagging.

“Hi Buddy,” Matt said softly. With his former pet turned Reid’s guard dog now excitedly panting at him, Matt felt like he was allowed in the room. He walked over to the closet door. “Reid? It’s just me, ok? Can I open the door?”

There wasn’t a response, but the door cracked open an inch.

Matt took that as a wary invitation and slowly opened the door the rest of the way. Reid had pretty much formed a cocoon around himself with the blankets. Even with the weather starting to cool off, it must’ve been uncomfortably hot to stay like that for the hours since Derek had been at the house. But Reid’s still worried expression told Matt that it was a trade off he was willing to take.

“You alright?”

Reid shifted a little in his nest. “Yeah…”

“That was one of my friends that came by earlier, ok? I know him. He doesn’t know about you though, so he didn’t mean to scare you by banging on the door like that. He thought I was home.” Matt tried to explain gently, but he didn’t get any acknowledgment that Reid believed him. “I told him to leave a while ago so he’s not here anymore. I’m gonna let Buddy out and find something to eat. Come out whenever you’re ready.” He got a small nod from Reid at that.

Matt carefully shut the closet door all the way before turning to Buddy. The dog went from intently watching him to breaking into a playful pant at being noticed. “You need to go out?” Buddy hopped up and stamped his front feet like a little kid doing a potty dance. “C’mon then.” Matt let him out of the room, closing the door behind them as Buddy went tearing across the house to the back door.

It was a few minutes after Buddy was let out and Matt had reheated his days old pizza that Reid padded into the kitchen. If Matt hadn’t been facing the doorway he wouldn’t have even noticed.

“Hungry?” Matt asked around a mouthful of crust.

Reid nodded.

“There’s the usual in the cabinets or I can reheat something for you.” He didn’t think Reid would go for food of a completely unknown origin, but Matt felt bad only having cereal and the most basic of non perishable foods to offer him otherwise. Tomorrow definitely had to be shopping day.

As expected, Reid walked to the pantry to check what was there instead of the leftovers. He picked out a can of soup and set about making it, with a little help being shown where the can opener was. Matt waited until Reid had the soup cooking in a small pot before breaking the news to him.

“So my friend that stopped by earlier, his name’s Derek,” Matt gently started. “And I know he scared you, but he has to come over again in a little bit, ok? He’ll just be inside for a few minutes to get his car keys back, that’s it. I’ll tell him to behave around you.”

Reid stared at the floor, looking like he didn’t believe that would work. Honestly, Matt wasn’t sure he believed it either. Derek pretty much did whatever he wanted, which had led to plenty of funny moments in the past but was causing more trouble than anything lately. Matt was still pissed about the auction, but that was a conversation for a different day. He had to focus on Reid right now.

Reid continued making his soup, a little more tense than before, while Matt called Derek and told him to come over. It didn’t take long before the doorbell rang.

“Hey.” Matt opened the door and stepped out, earning a confused look from Derek.

Derek glanced at Matt’s hands but didn’t see his keys. “Hey, what’s up?”

“I need to tell you something before you go inside.”

Now Derek was really confused. “Ok…? What is it?”

Matt paused for a second, deciding how to tell Derek about Reid without going into too much detail. He wasn’t sure what Reid would be ok with Derek knowing. “I, uh, have someone staying over. That’s why the TV was on earlier.”

That got Derek’s interest. “Oh? Girl or guy? Or both like that one time?”

Matt wasn’t even going to justify that with a response. “It’s the guy I bought at the auction.” The word bought left a bad taste in his mouth.

“Ah.” Derek smirked. “I see.”

“Not like that. He’s just staying here until he’s back on his feet.”

“Yeah, after he’s off his knees, right?”

“I’m not fucking joking,” Matt snarled. “He’s been through more than either of us can ever imagine. You leave him alone or I’ll never have you back over here again.”

Derek easily brushed off the threat. “We only ever really hang out at the bars anyway.”

“I’m not kidding.” And Matt had never felt more serious before in his life.

“Alright, alright. Let me in so I can grab my damn keys already.”

Reluctantly, Matt opened the front door and led him in. Reid was still sitting at the counter finishing up his soup when they walked into the kitchen. He timidly glanced up and Derek gave him a small smile, the kind that he always used when meeting new people so they weren’t tipped off to his true nature.

Matt grabbed the keys off the counter and went to hand them to Derek. But the other man was too distracted to notice. Too distracted by Reid, who he was blatantly looking over.

Reid was visibly uncomfortable. And that was before Derek opened his mouth. “Well, aren’t you a cutie?”

“Derek!” Matt hissed, trying desperately not to raise his voice. The last thing he wanted to do was scare Reid any more. He could see Reid trying to figure out an escape route that didn’t involve going past them. “What did I tell you outside?”

Derek nonchalantly turned to Matt, leaning against the counter in a way that put his elbow more in Reid’s space. “What? I didn’t get a good look at him at the auction.”

“That’s not an excuse! I told you to leave him alone!” It took more effort than he’d admit, but Matt calmed his voice. “You wanna get a good look at him?” The others glanced at him in different forms of shock, not sure where he was heading with that. “Reid, can you put your arms on the counter, please?”

Reid complied, but not without a worried look on his face. His arms were healing pretty well but the bruises were still clearly noticeable, circling his forearms and the space just under his short sleeves like coiled red snakes.

Derek’s eyes flicked over the marks. “Hm, kinky.” But his tone wasn’t joking or flirty anymore, it was the tone he had when Matt knew he was uncomfortable or caught in the act.

Still, Reid probably wouldn’t pick up on that tone shift. “Alright, out.” Matt made a shooing gesture and stepped towards Derek, who willingly started walking away. They headed out into the garage, Matt carefully closing the door behind them. “The fuck, man?” Matt snapped as he gave Derek his keys.

Derek took them back carefully, like grabbing them wrong would set Matt off further. “Sorry, I didn’t realize-”

“I _told_ _you_ he’s been through a lot and you pull this shit.”

“I know, I know.”

“He just finally started having normal conversations with me and now who knows how long it’ll take to get back to that point. That probably broke what little trust he had in me there.” Matt didn’t mean to reveal that much but it slipped out in his anger.

Derek put his hands up. “Hey, I said I was sorry, man. Nothing more I can do now.” And, as much as Matt hated it, he had a point. “I’m gonna leave now, alright? Didn’t know it was that bad.”

Matt wasn’t sure if he was referring to Reid’s situation or Matt’s temper over it, but he decided against asking. “Fine. I need you to leave me alone for a few days after this though, man.”

“Yeah, understood.” Derek chuckled, getting the key to his car ready. “ _No_ problem, trust me. Call me up when you’re done with… this. I’m sure you’ll be able to use a drink and some laughs.”

Instead of scolding Derek for making it seem like Reid was just some chore for him to finish, Matt let him open the garage and hop in his car to leave. There would be a time and place to tear into Derek about the auction later.

Matt watched the white car pull away, taking a deep breath to calm himself before closing the garage and heading back inside. Reid was staring blankly at the last few spoonfuls left of soup in his bowl.

“Reid?” He didn’t react to Matt’s voice. Though Reid looked like he was spacing out, Matt continued on the chance that he was still listening. “Hey, I’m sorry Derek acted like that. I told him off in the garage but I know that doesn’t make what happened any better.”

Reid seemed to slowly come out of his apparent trance, but didn’t acknowledge that Matt had said anything. “He was at the auction?”

Matt was a little reluctant to answer, but wasn’t about to lie. “Yeah.”

“Why?”

“He was the one that took me there.” Matt was careful with how much he said at first. He wasn’t sure what might upset Reid again.

But Reid seemed to take that as suspicious. “Why were you there?”

That was a great question for Reid to ask, but Matt wasn’t sure he’d accept the answer. “He kept bragging about how great this auction would be but never mentioned it wasn’t a normal auction until the last minute. I had no idea what was going on until it started.”

Reid seemed a little confused but not disbelieving. “So why did you stay?”

“The rules were that we couldn’t leave until the auction was over or we bought someone. I couldn’t handle staying the whole time though, and when I saw how sad you looked up there… I knew we both had to get out as soon as possible.”

Reid opened his mouth to ask something else but changed his mind. Matt got the feeling that it was going to be ‘why me?’ but didn’t bring it up, mostly because he wasn’t sure he had a definitive answer. Why _did_ he pick Reid to buy rather than the little girl before him? Or any of the people before her?

They fell into silence as Reid slowly finished his probably cold soup. Matt was worried he’d clam up again after Derek’s comments, but also hoped that answering those questions honestly, even if it didn’t seem like it, would encourage him to be more trusting.  

After a couple minutes of Matt wondering what Reid was thinking of the whole situation, Reid got up and set his bowl in the sink. Matt expected him to wordlessly go back to the guest room for the night. Instead, he got a welcome surprise. “So you teach?”

Stunned, it took a second for Matt to respond. “I- Yeah. I substitute.”

“What do you teach?”

Was Reid actually starting a conversation with him? Even after what happened? “Uh, music. Guitar and piano, mostly. And littler kids, the high school students get too bratty with me. Don’t have the patience for it.”

Reid timidly looked at the floor. “You seem to have a lot of patience to me.”

Matt couldn’t help a small smile at that. “Thank you.”

Maybe he wasn’t messing this up after all.


End file.
